Edmunds, Julie A.; Unlu, Fatih; Furey, Jane; Glennie, Elizabeth; Arshavsky, Nina (2020). Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, v42 n2 p257-278. Retrieved from: https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1253291
Reviewed: September 2021
This review may not reflect the full body of research evidence for this intervention.
Evidence Tier rating based solely on this study. This intervention may achieve a higher tier when combined with the full body of evidence.
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cumulative GPA through 2 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
2 Years |
Full sample;
|
2.65 |
2.59 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Cumulative GPA through 3 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
3 Years |
Full sample;
|
2.60 |
2.57 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Earned a technical credential by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
3.50 |
3.10 |
No |
-- | ||
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Earned a technical credential by 4 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Full sample;
|
2.50 |
2.50 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Outcome measure |
Comparison | Period | Sample |
Intervention mean |
Comparison mean |
Significant? |
Improvement index |
Evidence tier |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Earned an associate degree or a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
42.30 |
31.10 |
Yes |
|
|
|
| Show Supplemental Findings | |||||||||
|
Earned an associate degree by 4 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Full sample;
|
30.00 |
8.80 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned an associate degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Under-represented minority;
|
20.90 |
5.90 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned an associate degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
32.80 |
11.00 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Attainment of associate degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (first-generation college-goers) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
First-generation college-goers;
|
26.50 |
9.80 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned an associate degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Economically disadvantaged;
|
22.90 |
7.90 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Attainment of associate degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (underprepared students) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Underprepared students;
|
13.50 |
7.30 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned an associate degree or a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Economically disadvantaged;
|
35.90 |
23.00 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Attainment of any degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (first-generation college-goers) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
First-generation college-goers;
|
36.10 |
24.60 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned an associate degree or a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Under-represented minority;
|
36.10 |
27.20 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned a bachelor's degree 4 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
4 Years |
Full sample;
|
16.70 |
12.80 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Earned a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Economically disadvantaged;
|
21.30 |
16.80 |
Yes |
|
||
|
Attainment of any degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (underprepared students) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Underprepared students;
|
24.60 |
19.50 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Attainment of bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (underprepared students) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Underprepared students;
|
13.30 |
12.10 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Earned a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Under-represented minority;
|
25.00 |
23.20 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Earned a bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
Full sample;
|
24.90 |
24.00 |
No |
-- | ||
|
Attainment of bachelor's degree by 6 years after completion of 12th grade (first-generation college-goers) |
Early College High Schools vs. Business as usual |
6 Years |
First-generation college-goers;
|
17.00 |
16.40 |
No |
-- | ||
Characteristics of study sample as reported by study author.
| Asian | 1% | |
| Black | 27% | |
| Native American | 1% | |
| Other or unknown | 11% | |
| White | 60% |
| Hispanic | 8% | |
| Not Hispanic or Latino | 92% |
This study includes students who applied to one of 19 early college high schools in rural and urban settings in all regions of North Carolina. The postsecondary credential analysis involved students who applied to attend one of 12 early college high schools.
The study sample included students who applied to one of 19 early college programs from the 2005—2006 through the 2010—2011 school years. The analytic sample for the postsecondary credential analysis included 1,687 students from the 2005—2006 through the 2008—2009 school years who were randomly assigned by lottery to attend one of 12 early college high schools (952 students) or a traditional public comprehensive high school in their district (735 students). In this sample, 59 percent of students were female, 60 percent were White, 27 percent were Black, and eight percent were Hispanic. Just over half of the sample (51 percent) were economically disadvantaged and 41 percent were first-generation college students. About three percent of the sample were disabled or impaired.
Students assigned to the intervention group attended early college high schools, which are small schools of choice that combine the high school and college experiences and are located on college campuses. In this study, the early college high schools served students in grades 9 and higher who are under-represented in college. These programs enabled students to complete college credits while still in high school, but they also provided support in academic skills preparation such as writing, teamwork, class discussion, time management, notetaking, and study skills. In addition, the programs supported students in navigating college processes such as selecting and registering for classes, using college resources, using online course materials, applying for college, and applying for financial aid.
Students in the comparison group entered into a lottery but were not selected to be admitted to an early college high school. These students typically attended a traditional public comprehensive high school in their district. The traditional high schools may have provided some support in study skills and navigating the college selection and application process.
An indicator of the effect of the intervention, the improvement index can be interpreted as the expected change in percentile rank for an average comparison group student if that student had received the intervention.
For more, please see the WWC Glossary entry for improvement index.
An outcome is the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are attained as a result of an activity. An outcome measures is an instrument, device, or method that provides data on the outcome.
A finding that is included in the effectiveness rating. Excluded findings may include subgroups and subscales.
The sample on which the analysis was conducted.
The group to which the intervention group is compared, which may include a different intervention, business as usual, or no services.
The timing of the post-intervention outcome measure.
The number of students included in the analysis.
The mean score of students in the intervention group.
The mean score of students in the comparison group.
The WWC considers a finding to be statistically significant if the likelihood that the finding is due to chance alone, rather than a real difference, is less than five percent.
The WWC reviews studies for WWC products, Department of Education grant competitions, and IES performance measures.
The name and version of the document used to guide the review of the study.
The version of the WWC design standards used to guide the review of the study.
The result of the WWC assessment of the study. The rating is based on the strength of evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention. Studies are given a rating of Meets WWC Design Standards without Reservations, Meets WWC Design Standards with Reservations, or >Does Not Meet WWC Design Standards.
A related publication that was reviewed alongside the main study of interest.
Study findings for this report.
Based on the direction, magnitude, and statistical significance of the findings within a domain, the WWC characterizes the findings from a study as one of the following: statistically significant positive effects, substantively important positive effects, indeterminate effects, substantively important negative effects, and statistically significant negative effects. For more, please see the WWC Handbook.
The WWC may review studies for multiple purposes, including different reports and re-reviews using updated standards. Each WWC review of this study is listed in the dropdown. Details on any review may be accessed by making a selection from the drop down list.
Tier 1 Strong indicates strong evidence of effectiveness,
Tier 2 Moderate indicates moderate evidence of effectiveness, and
Tier 3 Promising indicates promising evidence of effectiveness,
as defined in the
non-regulatory guidance for ESSA
and the regulations for ED discretionary grants (EDGAR Part 77).
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